The Transylvania Times -

It’s past time to face harsh reality and be honest with ourselves. North Carolina’s unemployment rate for December 2019: 3.6 percent. For June 2020: 7.6 percent.

State and local businesses have been badly affected by the pandemic. Many working age people, who may have been living paycheck to paycheck in a good economy, are now suffering with insufficient income. Layoffs have happened and more are looming. For most unemployed, the paltry DES checks – some of the lowest in the nation and paid from a fund already collected from N.C. employers - are likely not even in the mail. The $600...